Last Thursday, November 14th, 2002, Dr. Perry Orens lost his appeal to the
NYS Court of Appeals, and his license to practice medicine has been
revoked. This is just the latest assault resulting from the New York State
Office of Professional Medical Conduct's harassment of physicians who are
willing to treat chronic Lyme disease. As a short-hand, we refer to these
doctors as "LLMDs," or "Lyme-literate medical doctors."

The following is a history of the decision process to-date:

The Original Decision by the OPMC to Revoke Dr. Orensí License Was Made in
November 1999

Dr. Orens had more than a 40-year history of unblemished medical practice
prior to this decision!! We believe that the investigation and the
revocation of Dr. Orensí license by the OPMC was clearly part of an
overall witch hunt against physicians who treat chronic Lyme disease. The
MAJORITY of those physicians in New York State have come under OPMC
attack.

The announcement of the revocation of Dr. Orens' license galvanized the
entire Lyme community, which had not previously been aware of the full
extent of the persecution of LLMDs. The subsequent Lyme activism that has
resulted in 1) two Assembly hearings, 2) an Assembly resolution, and 3) an
introduction of OPMC reform legislation, occurred too late to be of much
help in the Orens case.

Dr. Orensí attorney then appealed the OPMC decision to revoke Dr. Orensí
license. He brought the case to the Appellate division of the NYS Supreme
Court, raising six points on which the OPMC panel decision might be
reversed.

In 2001, the Appellate Division of the NYS Supreme Court Reversed the OPMC
Decision Based on One of the Following

The law requires that the OPMC panel that had judged Dr. Orens was
supposed to have consisted of two physicians and one lay person. However,
the so-called "lay person" on the Orens OPMC panel was a Physicianís
Assistant. So, in 2001, the Appellate Division of the NYS Supreme Court
reversed the decision of the OPMC panel. They ruled that a Physicianís
Assistant could NOT be considered a lay person, and Dr. Orensí license was
returned to him.

OPMC Appeals the Decision of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court

After the above decision by the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court,
the OPMC appealed the case in the next higher court (the Court of Appeals
in NYS). The fact that a Physicianís Assistant is not a lay person in
medicine seems pretty obvious to all of us. But the OPMC maintained that a
Physicianís Assistant is actually a lay person and, therefore, the
original decision to revoke Dr. Orens' license should stand.

In a vote of four to three, the Court of Appeals ruled that a Physicianís
Assistant could be considered a lay person, and ordered Dr. Orenís license
be revoked

What Happens Now?

Dr. Orensí case has been sent back to the Appellate Division of the
Supreme Court for consideration of the other points that Dr. Orens and his
attorney had raised in their original appeal. Since this Court had
reversed the OPMC decision last year based on the first point (i.e., a
Physician's Assistant is not a lay person), they had not considered the
additional objections that Dr. Orens and his attorney had raised.

Although this represents another opportunity to obtain justice, this
process will involve a huge amount of stress, energy, and financial
strain. I spoke with Dr. Orens yesterday, and he is still going to fight!!
Considering that the fight has already gone on for many years, and has
left him in great financial debt (not to mention the toll it has taken on
his well being), I believe his actions are truly heroic.

What Can We Do?

Dr. Orens is not able to afford legal representation for this next step.
The case has already cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and his
attorney has done much of the work without receiving payment. The Lyme
community has helped greatly in the past with fund raisers and donations,
but he still could use our help to continue his fight.

Please make checks payable to Asher Fensterheim, Esq., and write "Orens
Legal Defense" in the memo section of the check.

The loss of LLMDs based on OPMC harassment is a serious issue. Although
Dr. Burrascano was able to basically win his case, the fact that other
LLMDs, like Dr. Orens, are being brought down continues to create a
situation where doctors will not dare to treat chronic Lyme disease. This
is an issue that affects us all, and will continue to affect future Lyme
victims.

Thanks,
Ellen
Voices of Lyme

For complete information on actions taken in this case, LymeInfo refers
you to the following sources of information: